Students at Siuslaw Elementary spend Monday afternoon indoors
Administrators and teachers at Siuslaw Elementary School quickly cancelled outdoor activities Monday morning and ushered students inside the building.
A cougar was spotted between the elementary school and the middle school at approximately 11:45. Additional outdoor activities for the afternoon were also cancelled.
Florence police officers responded and conducted a brief search of the area for the large cat, suspected to be the same one that has been spotted in the area several times over the past two years.
97J officials notified parents via robo-calls shortly after the sighting.
Wildlife biologists say cougars are territorial creatures and a tom can range over an area of several square miles. Females have a smaller range, but can also move around a significant amount.
It’s not known whether the cougar spotted Monday was a male or female.
Mental issues lead to standoff
A brief standoff between police and a man holding a pet cat and a large banner on a pole on Highway 101 was concluded peacefully Friday.
Florence Police Commander John Pitcher said the man, who was not identified, was carrying the cat and, as he walked by a thrift store, picked up a large banner on a pole.
Officers responded and confronted the man about a block away, just north of 35th Street.
Pitcher said the man began screaming at officers and refused to surrender the banner or the cat. After a few moments of conversation, police were eventually able to convince him to acquiesce. They took him into custody briefly, but he was not charged with anything.
The Commander said the man did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs and the situation was – quote – “mostly mental”.
It’s not known what became of the cat.
Sea Lion Caves to replace elevator
55-years after the original went into service at Sea Lion Caves, the owners of the visitor attraction and wildlife preserve will be updating the elevator that provides access to the cave itself.
Caves General Manager Boomer Wright said the replacement will be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
Boomer Wright – “Time to update and upgrade and get something that’s gonna be a little more, as far as we’re concerned, following the philosophy of, you know, being green and helping the environment.”
The elevator will utilize new technology and instead of cables that continually need adjustment and petroleum based lubricants, the “Gen-2” Otis Elevator is driven by self-contained belts. Work on the replacement will begin sometime in October.
Boomer Wright – “That’s when our, the Sea Lions normally are not here. You know, we sure want people to come and visit, the gift shop will still be open, but at this point that’s probably the best time for us to close.”
The Cave itself will be closed to the public during the work which is expected to be completed before Thanksgiving.
Toxin levels drop; Razor clams now ok
Local razor clamming enthusiasts can now go after the tasty bivalve again. The Oregon Departments of Agriculture and Fish and Wildlife announced the reopening of a popular stretch of beach in the area.
Levels of shellfish toxins in the clams recently fell enough to allow officials to open the stretch of beach between the Siuslaw River and Heceta Head to harvest.
Much of the Oregon Coast was off limits in the past year because of elevated toxin levels. Beaches north of Heceta Head were opened to harvest last month.
Appreciating opera
A pair of music classes will be offered this summer at Lane Community College in Florence. The first is an eight-week course on “sight reading” and is designed for singers of all skill levels.
The second is called “All the Opera You Can Stand” and is intended to instill appreciation for that art form.
LCC Continuing Education Coordinator Marsha Sills said both classes are open to anyone, no matter their level of expertise.
The sight reading course runs every Monday evening from June 20th through August 15th, the opera class will be just three weeks; Wednesdays; between July 13th and the 27th.
For information on how to enroll… call LCC Florence at 541-997-8444 or visit the local center on Oak Street.
6th annual Florence Festival of Books
It’s still 3 ½ months away, but organizers of the annual Florence Festival of Books are already at work planning this year’s event.
The main point of the festival will be the day-long book fair featuring authors and publishers Saturday, September 24th.
A panel of authors will talk about their first books and how they made it to print at three o’clock the afternoon of Friday, September 23rd. Later that evening, award winning Portland author Phillip Margolin will be the featured keynote speaker for the festival. Margolin has written 19 novels, many of them New York Times best sellers.
Advance tickets for the Margolin talk are just $80. Registration for the September 24th and 25th Florence Festival of Books begins Wednesday.
